Lubricant reservoir for railway car truck journals



Oct. 26, 1954 J. F. coRcoRAN LUBRICANT RESERVOIR FOR RA ILWAY CAR TRUCKJOURN Filed May 31; 1951 Patented Oct. 26, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE 1P"vliiilveliT RAILWAY raven JOU 'NALs' John Corcoran, Bethesda,Md. Applieaiion M ay 1951, Saar No. 2"2'9,9

3 claims. (01. 308-43) This invention relatesgenerally to improvementsin devices for lubricating the journal bearings of a railway car truck,and relates particularly to an improved device for maintaining lubricantagainst a railway car truck journal without the use of the usual journalbox' packing.

Modern high-speed railway operation with the use of conventionale'qui-pment'has' posed many problems incident to the proper lubricationof the car truck journals, and at high speeds the conventional packingmaterial for journal boxes has been inadequate to maintain properlubrication of the journal bearings. Conventional journal boxes havebeen characterized by the use of dust guards associated with the dustguard bearing of the journal for preventing the ingress of dirt andforeign material to the journal box; Irrespective of the type of dustguard'ernployed; a certain amount of dirt has'enteredthe journal box,and its presence has caused the oil-soaked packing material to becomecontaminated and cause glazing thereof, thereby preventing-the lubricantfrom reaching the axle journal, withconsequent development of hot boxeswhich damage thejournal, the bearing brass and its liner.

According tothe present inventionthe journal is maintained in contactwith a supply of=1ubricant held in a reservoir secured in any convenientfashion to the journal brass.

as a sector of a circle and' embracing-a central angle of approximately180, whereby the sealing ring and its support on the reservoir may totheform of a stamping or unitarycasting having end walls provided witharcuate lips formed thereon to furnisha support for sealing membersadapted to contact'the axle journal to prevent the escape of lubricant.

With the foregoing considerations'in mind it is aprincipal object ofthis invention-to" provide a lubricant retaining" reservoir which can bereadily inserted into a journal boxto maintain a supply of lubricant incontact with the jiiiii'nal at all times; and i which can be radilysecured to The reservoir, is further characterized.- by sealing meansformed a slightly modified form of journal brass, the journal brass andthe reservoir together preventing the escape of lubricant away from thejournal bearing.

Another object is to provide a simple and cheap lubricant reservoir fora car axle journal, said reservoir'being in the former a rigid trough orcontainer surrounding the lower portion of a car axle journal and beingprovided with. a simple sealing arrangement which together with thejournal brass completely surrounds the journal and forms apositivemeansof providing lubrication for theaxle journal.

Still another object is to maintain the axle journal completelylubricated at all times, and toprovide for the lubricat-ionthereof atall times with only a slight amount of modification of the conventionaljournal brass, which in the case of g theinstant invention is employedas a support for a lubricant retaining reservoir depending therefrom;and which together with the lubricant retaining reservoir maintains'theaxle journal substantially sealed atv all times against the escape oflubricant or the ingress of foreign material.

Other objects and important features of the invention will be apparentfrom a study of the within specification, which specification takentogether with the drawing discloses a preferred embodiment ofthe'invention, and what is now considered to be the best manner ofapplying the principles thereofz, While the invention is described interms of what is now considered to be a preferred embodimentthereof, itsscopeis not intended to-be limited by the embodiment shown nor otherwisethan by the spirit and scope of the subjoined claims.

In the drawing:

Figure 1' is a longitudinal section through a conventional'journal boxof a railway car truck, showing a lubricant retaining reservoirconstructed in accordance with the present invenn; j.

Figure 2 isa transverse section taken along the line; 2 -2o'fFig'ure.1and looking in the direction of'thearrows; and V Figure a perspectiveview, drawn on a smaner seaie; of eena -am retaining reservoir Referringnot/to the drawing, the lubricant retainiiigreservoir, according to thepresent iriventioii} is shown supportedvvithin a journal boxfora-railway c men The form of construction ofthe-Uoiirn 'b'o'zrllisunimportant as respectstlie-presentinvention and may be" of anyconventional type, and may be of the type which is cast integrally witha side frame I2 of a railway car truck. The journal box II is formedwith an end opening I3, for inspection of the interior thereof, and issuitably closed by a journal box cover or lid I4 which is hinged at Itto the top of the journal box I I.

The journal box II herein shown is also provided with a circular openingfor receiving an axle journal l8 of a wheel axle I9. As shown, the axlejournal I8 extends into the journal box II. A dust guard bearing 2| isformed between the axle journal I8 and the Wheel axle I9, and is fittedwith a dust guard 22 inserted into a dust guard seat 23 formed in thejournal box II.

The load of the railway car is transmitted by the car bolster, notshown, through the side frame I2 and the journal box II onto the journalit. A journal bearing 26 and an associated wedge 24 are interposedbetween the journal I8 and the top of the journal box. As seen in Figure1 the wedge 24 is positioned between a shoulder 2c formed inside thejournal box near the top of the opening I3 thereto, and a shoulder 25formed on the upper side of the brass bearing 26 at a point where thebearing 26 is closest to the dust guard bearing 2 I. As seen also inFigure 2, the wedge 24 is positioned between shoulders 2i and 23 formedintegrally with the journal box I I and defining side walls thereof. Asseen with respect to Figure 2, the journal bearing 28 has a liner 29 ofbabbitt or other bearing metal which rests upon the journal I8. Thebearing element 25 is located properly with respect to the wedge M bywedge surfaces 3| and 32 formed on the underside of the wedge 24 whichmatch respectively with wedge surfaces 33 and 3A formed on the upperside of the bearing element 26.

The bearing element 26 is limited in its endwise movement on the journal18 by a collar 36 integral with the outer end of the journal I8 and acurved shoulder 31 formed between the journal I8 and the dust guardbearing 2 I.

The structure thus far described is substantially that to be found inthe conventional form of railway car journal box. In such conventionalconstruction, the bottom of the journal box is packed with oil-soakedabsorbent material which is positioned to the underside of the journalI8, so that upon rotation of the journal a film of oil is carriedthereby to lubricate the co-acting surfaces of the journal is and thebearing liner 29. The present invention, however, eliminates anypossibility that the journal I3 and the bearing liner 29 may not beadequately supplied with lubricant by maintaining a body of lubricant indirect contact with the lower portion of the journal.

According to the present invention the journal bearing or brass 26 maybe adapted suitably to provide a support for a lubricant retainingreservoir which underlies the brass 26, and which maintains a supply oflubricant against the journal is at all times. As seen in Figures 2 and3, the lubricant retaining reservoir is generally indicated at 38 todefine a substantially semi-cylindrical housing. It is illustratedherein in the form of a unitary metal stamping. However, it may beconstructed in other manners and with other materials such as hardrubber or plastics of such character as to maintain the walls relativelyrigid. In the forming operation a pair of flat flanges 39, 39 are struckout from the generally semi-cylindrical sides and bottom 4! of thereservoir 38. A pair of end walls 42 may likewise be so formed withsubstantially end ribs or flanges G3. Each rib 43 is fitted with a seal44 made of neoprene or other oil-resistant elastomer havin inturned lips46 which are normally compressed against the journal I8 and possessessuflicient resilience to maintain its contact with the journal when thebearing liner 29 becomes worn.

The brass 24 is suitably adapted to suspend the reservoir 38 therefromto enclose the journal I8 with the supply of lubricant held by thereservoir 38 against the underside of the journal I8. To this end thebrass 2A is provided with flanges 41 extending axially of the journal I8and milled smooth on the underside thereof. The flanges 39 of thereservoir are held against the flanges 41 of the brass 2t by cap bolts23 threaded into the flanges il at a plurality of points therealong.

A pressure lubricant wall 32 of the reservoir troduced to the journalreservoir 38 is in position as seen in figures.

In assembling the lubricant reservoir according to the present inventionwithin the journal box I I, the side frame I2 together with the journalbox II is supported by jacks, not shown, with the journal I8 extendingwithin the journal box I I. It may be assumed that the conventionalwedge and the journal bearing will be removed at this time to facilitateinsertion of the reservoir 38 through the opening I3 of the journal box,the reservoir being turned to a position from the position as seen inFigure 3. The reservoir 38 is then turned about the journal I8 andpermitted to rest on the bottom of the journal box II with the flangesas of the reservoir 38 in the position as seen in Figure 3, but withinthe journal box I I. The journal bearing 26 and the wedge 24 are fittedon top of the journal I8 in the usual manner, with the flanges 47 of thebearing 26 extending horizontally as seen in Figure 2. The flanges 39 ofthe reservoir 33 are then brought against the underside of the flangesll and the flanges 39 are then bolted to the flanges ll by the cap bolts48. The seals d6 thus contact the journal I8 and seal the reservoiragainst the escape of lubricant. Lubricant is then introduced into thereservoir 38 by any suitable means connected to the fitting 5B, and theproper amount of lubricant to be introduced to the journal bearing maybe appropriately metered if desired.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that the inventiondescribed herein provides a novel and useful device for maintaininglubrication of the car truck journals at all times. The lubricantretaining reservoir according to the present invention also preventsingress of dirt or foreign material to the lubricant, thereby avoidingany possibility of injuring the journal brass liner. By the use of thedevice according to the present invention the need for oil-soaked wastepacking of the journal boxes is made entirely unnecessary. Furthermore,the conventional journal structure needs to be modified but slightlyonly, by forming flanges on the journal brass for securing the lubricantreservoir thereto.

While the invention has been described in terms of a certain embodimentthereof, it is not intended that the invention be limited in terms ofthe embodiment shown nor otherwise than by the terms of the appendedclaims.

I claim:

l. In combination with a railway car axle fitting 5c is held to the 38,and lubricant is in- It and brass 26 when the the several journalprovided with spaced apart circumferential shoulders encircling thejournal and defining a smooth bearing surface between them, a journalbearing supported on said journal in spaced relation to saidcircumferential shoulders so as to permit substantial axial movement ofthe bearing relative to the journal, and a journal box enclosing saidjournal and journal bearing and provided with a front opening throughwhich said bearing is normally applied to its operative position, ofmeans for supplying lubricant to said journal and to the journal bearingcomprising a reservoir insertable through the front opening of thejournal box and enclosed therein at a location underlying the journaland removably secured to the journal bearing, the said reservoir beingof trough configuration for containing a body of lubricant and includingrelatively thin but rigid side and end walls which cooperate with saidbearing to completely enclose a major portion of said smooth bearingsurface of the journal, and resilient sealing elements fitted to theedge portion of each end wall of the reservoir and engaging said smoothbearing surface of said journal for providing a sealed connectionbetween the said journal and the end walls of said reservoir.

2. The combination structure as defined in claim 1 characterized in thatthe said circumferential shoulders encircling the journal conclaim 2characterized in that the resilient sealing elements are connected tosaid end walls and bear resiliently against said smooth surface of thejournal to provide seal connections between the journal and both endwalls of the reservoir.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 64,064 Bond Apr. 23, 1867 560,486 Eisele May 19, 1896 803,159Finley Oct. 31, 1905 1,510,377 Blose Sept. 30, 1924 1,885,586 Bryan Nov.1, 1932 1,906,840 Coady May 2, 1933 2,259,648 Lucas Oct. 21, 19412,480,486 Leazer Aug. 30, 1949

